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The Virginian-Pilot(Norfolk, VA.)

A $40 million settlement has been agreed upon that will pay college football and basketball players dating to 2003 for the use of their likenesses in NCAA-branded video games.

The payouts could go to more than 100,000 athletes, including some current players, who were either on college rosters or had their images used in video games made by Electronic Arts featuring college teams. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said it would be the first time college athletes will be paid for the commercial use of their images.

Depending on how many athletes apply for the settlement, the payments could range from as little as $48 for each year an athlete was on a roster to $951 for each year the image of an athlete appeared in a video game.

"We're incredibly pleased with the results of this settlement and the opportunity to right a huge wrong enacted by the NCAA and EA against these players and their rights of publicity," said Steve Berman, one of the lead attorneys. "We've fought against intense legal hurdles since filing this case in 2009 and to see this case come to fruition is a certain victory."

The settlement is with Electronic Arts and Collegiate Licensing Co., which licenses and markets collegesports, and does not include the NCAA. The case against the NCAA is scheduled for trial early next year.

Plaintiffs in the case contend the NCAA conspired with Electronic Arts and Collegiate Licensing Co. to illegally use their images in video games.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken still must approve the proposed settlement, which comes on the eve of a major antitrust trial against the NCAA that could reshape the way collegesports operate. That case, featuring former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon and others as lead plaintiffs, goes to trial June 9 in Oakland, Calif.

According to documents filed with the court late Friday, attorneys for O'Bannon and 20 other plaintiffs said they have already run up legal fees exceeding $30 million and expenses of more than $4 million in pressing their case. They are seeking an injunction that would stop the NCAA from enforcing rules that prohibit athletes from profiting from their play in college.

O'Bannon, who led UCLA to a national title in 1995, is also part of the group settling with EA Sports and Collegiate Licensing Co. Also covered by the settlement are suits brought by former Arizona State quarterback Sam Keller, former West Virginia football player Shawne Alston and former Rutgers player Ryan Hart.

According to the filing, a pool of money will be available to players after attorneys take 33 percent of the proposed settlement and up to $2.5 million in expenses. Named plaintiffs like O'Bannon and Keller will receive $15,000, while others who joined the suit later would get $2,500 or $5,000.

The majority of the money, however, will go to athletes who file for claims, a group that attorneys say could contain between 140,000 and 200,000 players who were on football and basketball rosters from 2003 on.

In 35 years as Duke’s head basketball coach, Mike Krzyzewski has dismissed exactly one player from his program. That dismissal came on January 29, 2015, when Coach K booted guard Rasheed Sulaimon from the team after Krzyzewski said Sulaimon “repeatedly struggled to meet the necessary obligations.”

A new rule regarding athletic eligibility at charter and private schools in upstate New York has caused nine schools to sue in order to overturn the rule. The rule states that students who transfer to a new school without changing residency would be ineligible to participate in sports at the school for a year.